they say laws for are the law-abiding. background checks are supposed to stop what the government calls prohibitive possessers, illegal immigrants, adjudicated mentally ill and felons who face few penalties for it. maricopa county jail in phoenix, arizona. is it hard for a person with criminal record to get a gun? >> no. >> reporter: while washington debates back ground checks for law-abiding gun owners. where do criminals get their weapons. >> people usually go through other people to buy it. >> i say 95% off the street, crime guns. >> reporter: survey of 18,000 prison inmates found 40% get their guns off the street, 40% from friends and family. 4% from pawn shops. 1% from free markets and gun shows. >> got a second degree burglary charge. >> reporter: we asked inmates incarcerated primarily for robbery and burglary do guns detour crime. >> if you're trying to do something, bad or whatever, get away with them, obviously not going to deal with somebody who has a gun. >>> you don't know if someone has one or not. you should